Love Like Hermione, Hate Like Draco

Chapter 4: Draco

Chapter 4: Draco
The Professor in green was trying to get our attention. She was smiling, but she was starting to become frustrated with us. I walked over to talk to the famous Harry Potter, and maybe draw him my way. I gave him my hand to shake, as I said, "'My name's Malfoy, Draco Malfoy.'" He grabbed it, as I expected he would. "I can help you with your friend arrangement." I looked the red-headed boy up and down a couple times, with a scowl on my face, until turning back to Harry. He gave me a dirty look, and said, "I think I can find my own friends, thank you." I scoffed, right before the Professor said, "Everyone, listen." Her voice was stern. We were all quiet after that. Her smile grew wider. "Thank you. I will be taking all of you into the Great Hall, this room behind me. You will all stand in the front and wait for your name to be called. Then, once you hear your name, you will walk up the steps and sit on the stool. I will place a hat on your head and it will tell you which house you now belong to, Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, or Slytherin. After the Sorting Hat has told you what house you are in, you will walk down the steps and find a seat at your house's table. Does everyone understand?" There were choruses of yes. "Are there any questions?" We were all shaking our heads, when a boy stepped in front of the crowd, crying, "Trevor!" He bent down and picked up a toad. When he stood back up, his face was crimson. He quickly shuffled back into the crowd. The Professor sighed deeply. She turned around and pushed open the doors.

When I stepped into the Great Hall, the first thing I remember seeing was the candles floating above everyone's heads. They were attached to nothing, but they stayed in the same spot, with the occasional bobbing. The Hall was so big, and there were witches and wizards everywhere. I looked over at the Slytherin table and they were the only table not smiling. I guess they didn't want newcomers, but I knew they were going to get some.

There were a couple steps, leading to a higher floor. There was one long table, stretching across the width of the Great Hall. The Professors lined the table, every seat was filled, except for one seat to the right of Professor Dumbledore. My father told me that he was the worst thing that ever happened to this school, but I didn't know if I should believe him. He didn't like a lot of people and he rarely ever said anything nice.

The Professor stopped before the steps, turned around, and held her hand up. We all stopped, as she said, "Let us all listen to the wonderfully prepared song by our Choir." She turned around and nodded towards the group of people standing on the platform. The began singing. It was a short song and it wasn't terrible. They sounded alright. I wasn't very into things like choir, but they weren't bad. After it was over, the group cleared out and took their seats at their house table. The Professor walked onto the platform and got our attention again. "Now it is time for the Sorting Hat ceremony. I will call each first year, one at a time. When your name is called, I would like you to come onto the platform, and I will place this Sorting Hat on your head, then you will be told which house is now yours. First, before anyone finds out which house is theirs, we must listen to the Sorting Hat's poem." She turned around and moved off to the side. Then, the Sorting Hat spoke. The rhyme was about the four houses and how they came to be. It was very interesting, believe it or not. Then, I knew it was time to be sorted. I didn't think that I was going to be called first, and I was right. They started with Hannah Abott, alphabetical order. When her name was called, she looked at everyone around her, her eyes as wide as saucers. She lowered her head and slowly made her way to the stairs. She looked up and crept up the steps. The last step squeaked as she pushed off of it. Hannah turned to face us and sat on the stool. Professor McGonagall placed the hat on her head, and the felt of the hat shrunk down further onto her head. Then something spoke. "Hufflepuff!" Everyone started to cheer and clap, as she took her seat at the Hufflepuff table. I clapped and I figured out that the hat spoke, shortly after she took her seat. Susan Bones was called next. She didn't take as much time as Hannah to get to the stool, but she didn't seem to be in a hurry, either. When she sat down, you could see the worry in her face. Her fists were clenched tight, sitting on her legs and her right leg was bouncing up and down, quickly. The hat was placed on her head. It was silent for a few moments, except for the whispers you could hear sometimes. The hat sat on her head for close to a minute, until the hat spoke again. "Hufflepuff!" The hat fell off of her head, from getting up so quickly. Professor McGonagall caught it before it had a chance to hit the floor. When she realized what she had done, she quickly turned around and her face was bright red. She scurried off to the Hufflepuff table without looking back. Professor McGonagall called out, "Boot, Terry!" He was on the platform before Professor McGonagall could finish saying his name. He didn't look nervous, but he didn't seem over confident. He was extremely eager, though. As the Professor was putting the hat on his head, he grabbed it with both of his hands and pulled it down faster. Everyone giggled. He was sitting on the stool for about two minutes, before the Sorting Hat came to a conclusion. I thought he was going to be another Hufflepuff, but I was surprised when the Sorting Hat said, "Ravenclaw!" He had a smile on his face that was bigger than the entire Great Hall. He ran over to the Ravenclaw table and sat next to a girl with dark, straight brown hair and a boy with strawberry blond hair. They all seemed pretty happy to see each other. Maybe they're related. More and more people were called, one after another. More and more people were put into the four different houses. Brown, Lavender. Bulstrode, Millicent. Corner, Michael. Crabbe, Vincent. Gryffindor. Slytherin. Ravenclaw. Slytherin. Each person took about a minute to two minutes. I wanted to go already. I already knew what house I was going to be in. Of course, Slytherin. My pure-blood family was full of Slytherins. It was probably the most important thing to my family, except for marrying pure-bloods into the family, to keep the bloodline pure and nothing else.

It was getting later and later, and I was getting hungrier and hungrier. My stomach was starting to rumble by the time Professor McGonagall was moving onto the people with the last names that start with G's. Crabbe had already left my side, when Goyle was called. He tripped over the first step, but he regained his balance by the third. He wasn't embarrassed, he just sat on the stool, waiting for her to put the Sorting Hat on his head. Once it was on, it took about 30 seconds, until it announced, "Slytherin." I had no doubt that Crabbe, Goyle, and I would all be in Slytherin. It wasn't as important to their families as it was mine, but it was important, none the less. Goyle trotted off the platform over to the Slytherin table. He took a seat next to Crabbe and they both looked at me. I nodded my head and turned around, waiting for the next person to be called up. I didn't know who would be next, but then I heard the name. I was silent. I wanted to know where she belonged. I watched her walk onto the platform. She turned around before sitting on the stool, and I found her eyes right away. They looked hopeful, but nervous. She had to be Slytherin, she just had to be.